Room for dreams...

Today I invite you to put your feet up, to rest for a brief moment, to join me on a journey to the land where dreams are soft and bright, and where you can wake up feeling refueled and rejuvenated. Or at least have a little snooze, snore if you wish, and dream of nothing, nothing at all...

Today we are in the room often referred to so amusingly in this country, the "master bedroom". A bemused smile escapes me. "Master"... where then lies the mistress? Or is it perhaps master as opposed to servant? Either way, it is a bedroom. Where sleep carries us into the next day. If we are lucky enough not to be disturbed by small people, that is. Children, whose dreams may steer their sleep carriage into the land of dragons and "baddies", rather than all things fluffy and fine.

That's when the faux fur throw becomes their close companjon, keeping them safe. That's when synchronised snooring becomes their lullaby, and the pile of pillows their castle.

That's when zzzzzzzzzzzz...........

A plastered Swede...

And so it was that there was a rushed Swede on a fly-by visit to Stockholm in September 2007. The Casa Cor exhibition had just started and I had about 15 minutes to spare. With ca 40 architects and interior designers having created a wild and wacky home for an imaginary family, those 15 minutes were going to be jam-packed with impressions and inspiration, and I did not intend to miss a thing.

In one room hung some art work that caught my eye and made me think, like so often when I see something I can't afford, " What if I could try to make that myself?"

And so it was that a stubborn Swede returned to the UK carrying a baby in arms, whilst ushering a three-year-old along, pushing a pram and pulling a suitcase... and carrying two big buckets of Swedish plaster ("spackel"). After having searched everywhere in vain for English plaster behaving like the Swedish grainy, sandy kind, and refusing to give up on my experiment, this seemed a very natural solution to me. Needless to say, some other family members expressed some concern about my sanity and were quietly mocking my madness.

As much as I loathe working with MDF, this seemed like the best material for the square and the circle, which were then screwed together and covered in a thick layer of plaster. With the back end of an art paint brush, I made the lines to give it the texture I had in mind, and painted it with a matt gold and matt blackboard paint. As I did not have a picture of the art work that had inspired me, I had to try to recreate it from memory.

The result? A round golden wallthingamajig that seems to work rather well in our Oriental-inspired bedroom. Mocking family members mock no longer.

So, did it in the end ressemble the real deal? The picture to the left below is from Casa Cor. Conclusion: Same, same, but different.

Photo from a blog called "Living in Andyland".

Incy Wincy...



OK, I think it is time to get personal. After all, I have been exposing myself as a blogger for more than a week, so I think it is time to reveal the truth about my home. Show it as it is, warts and all. Alright, maybe warts would be a little too much for my readers, but here it is, the embarrassing and awkward reality.

Cobweb. Yep, spiders seem to believe that squatting here and there in our house will make us give it up and sign over the deeds to these eight-legged horrors. Well, they obviously have not met a Swede on a mission before. Armed with the hoover, telescoped to full length, I counter-attack. Ceiling, corners, under tables, they can run but they can't hide. Not from a Viking. Not from me and my hoover, fuelled by my hatred for them and their wicked webs. And so: victory, mission completed. Sweaty but satisfied I carry the hoover back downstairs and applaud myself on a job well done.

Or so I thought. Those of you with an eye for detail will already have spotted it. The subtle revenge of one stubborn spider. Too subtle for my ageing eye to see through the camera, but plainly obvious when blown up on the computer. My cherished bird cage, covered in cobweb. Now there is a beautiful example of man versus nature. Or woman versus irritating spider, as it were. One - nil to the spider.